Beauty in Today's World

"If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place." - Eckhart Tolle

I really love this quote by Eckhart Tolle. It’s such a powerful commentary on our society’s idea of beauty.

From a young age we are taught about beauty, whether we know it or not. Though we’re not formally taught about beauty in the classroom or at home, we are bombarded with messages about beauty from the media multiple times a day. Hair commercials, dental commercials, billboards, movies, tv shows, fashion blogs, gossip blogs, celebrity culture (the list goes on and on)-they all teach us that beauty is outward. We’re taught that beauty is measured by how you look on the outside- a certain hair color, a certain eye color, a certain type of nose, etc.

I wonder how different things would be if we were bombarded with daily images about beauty being on the inside. Would we feel better about ourselves? Would we be more loving towards each other? Would we be less materialistic? How would things change?

I think Eckhart Tolle is on to something. If we shift our focus from outside to inside, the beauty we cultivate from the inside will spill out of us and show on the outside. Time to shift our focus!